Burning House
by RadicalRae
Summary: A collection of one shots featuring multiple pairings, both romantic and platonic. Rated just in case (and for the occasional profanity). Please review!
1. Warmth

**Author's notes:**

 **Suppose this is my first story here, but it's definitely not my first ever. Anyway, this will be just a hodgepodge of one shots about various ships (excluding those with incest or underage characters with older characters). This first one is Spirit/Death Scythe x Lord Death. I'll be doing all the ones I like most, but I'd be super excited to get some requests to improve my writing.**

 **If you spot a mistake, feel free to point it out to me!**

 **I do not own Soul Eater or any of the characters, or any songs that may be mentioned.**

 _Warmth_.

That's the first thing that registers as Death slowly comes to, dark, golden eyes peeking open before closing immediately. His breath hitches only once as warm fingers slide over the chill, pale skin of his arm, over his bony shoulder and coming to a rest against the back of his long neck. The weight if the hand only stays there for a moment, sliding further up to tickle past high cheek bones, barely touching over long eyelashes before tangling almost gently in thick black hair.

Spirit let's out a soft, genuine chuckle when Death curls in closer, eyes opening so that the God could glare at his personal weapon for waking him from his rather pleasant dream. Even if he was much warmer than his own body, the pale, gangly man slid from the large bed, sighing as his bare feet sunk into the pristine white carpet. The air was cold against his bare chest, having left the balcony windows open all night, although it didn't really bother him - the Death God had a naturally low temperature, so the cold rarely bothered him like it did his more-than-human lover.

Speaking of which...Death smiled as arms snaked around his waist, gently tugging him back into the warmth of the redhead's embrace. They didn't need words as he turned to bury his face in Spirit's neck, breathing in that warm scent he seemed to carry with him wherever he went. The scythe's breath shifted the hair on top of his head, and Death gave a content sigh. Hands - one tanned and warm, and one pale and cold and marked with hundreds of years of scars - found each other under the white comforter and fingers entwined, and both God and man relaxed, not saying a word to each other, simply laying still, fitting together like two pieces of a damaged puzzle; bent and a little torn but still whole.

A warmth he hadn't felt in centuries settled in his chest, and he felt a tickling sensation in the back of his mouth, and words he couldn't afford to say choked and died in his throat before he let them escape. Those three words, as much as he craved to say them to the wonderful redhead, would only bring sadness later on in both of their lives.

A giggle sounded from the edge of the bed, and Death rolled over to see the adorably chubby face of his six year old son peeking over the edge if the bed. He pulled away momentarily to snatch his son up into his arms, amused by both the shriek of laughter and of Spirit gasping as the young child kicked him in response to being dropped onto the redhead.

Their moment was ruined, but they still shared a look of amusement as Spirit affectionately ruffled the young death god's black and white hair, only half listening to the excited chatter of the boy. By the time Death had pulled a shirt on the two had agreed that Kid's father really should make them pancakes while they stayed warm in bed. He made a face at them, which Kid only imitated, and tossed a pillow at his laughing lover.

Pancakes it was.

 **Thinking of maybe doing Soul and Death the Kid next, any thoughts of other ships I should do? Also, if Kid has a kind of name before he becomes Lord Death, did/does Death have a name too?**

 **Review please!**


	2. Accidental Hand Holding

**Soul x Death The Kid**

 **I do not own Soul Eater or any songs that may be mentioned.**

 **Accidental to intentional hand holding**

The first time it happened both of them were completely oblivious.

Soul grabbed Death The Kid's hand, pulling him up the stairs towards the DWMA. Neither seemed to notice the odd look Maka gave them as they passed, more intent on beating Black*Star to the top of the stairs. The blue haired meister had still beaten them, laughing and, as per usual, chattering about surpassing the gods.

Kid was frowning, paying no mind to his loud mouthed friend. Soul was still holding onto him. The weapon's hand was...warm, skin rough from all of his piano playing. The texture was so different to his own cool, smooth skin, and the young reaper slowly pulled his hand from Soul's grip. A tingling feeling spread in his stomach, and the warmth from the other boy's hand lingered on his skin.

A hand on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts, and he eagerly joined in the friendly banter, the tingling feeling and lingering warmth forgotten for the time being.

The second time it happened, one didn't know and the other was embarrassed.

Saturday was usually the day Kid spent in the Gallows manor library, reading and arguing with Liz and Patty about the symmetry of the room. Some Saturdays, the ones he considered the best, were the ones he spent in his Father's study, listening to the scratch of pen on paper and the soft mumbling of Lord Death as he bent over his desk in concentration.

However...He couldn't deny that his Saturday always got a little better when a certain white haired red eyed agreed to come over so Kid could help him with his homework. The young reaper checked his hair one last time, fiddling with the edge of his white t-shirt, wondering if Soul would even care about what he wore. N-not that he cared what the weapon thought! He just hoped he was symmetrical - the doorbell had just rung.

Deat the Kid threw open the door, plastering on a smile, though his usual greeting died in his throat. Soul stood the porch of the manor, shaking water from his frustratingly asymmetrical hair.

"I'm not late, am I?" He pushed past Kid, grabbing his friend by the hand and pulling him after. The door was left open, which should have bothered him, but with Soul grinning at him - _that same grin that made his knees weak and made his head feel fuzzy -_ he completely forgot about it, and meekly gestured towards his Father's study; he wasn't there now, so they'd be alone together. He told himself it was because he wanted no distractions, that it wasn't because he wanted to be the only thing holding Soul's attention today.

He glanced down at their hands as Soul continued inside, a part of him enjoying the warmth from the boy's hand, the other, much larger part, screamed at him to break the contact. It seemed like the weapon didn't realize that this simple thing was freaking out the young reaper, and Kid couldn't help but pray it stayed that way.

The third time it happened, Lord Death caught them.

Liz and Patty had walked home before him, having wanted to talk to his father about a certain weapon he'd been seeing more of lately (he'd played the piano the other day for him!), and now he walked slowly home, not noticing the grey clouds that were gathered overhead. It had been hot that morning, so he'd forgone his usual heavy jacket and instead only wore his white dress shirt. Of course...that wouldn't stop the rain. Or his cursing the sudden change of weather.

Kid stole under the shelter of a nearby cafe, glaring at the offending water that thundered down onto the cobble streets. The cold sunk in a minute later, and he wrapped his arms around himself, wishing that he had his Father's tolerance to the chill he now felt crawling up his arms.

"Its not cool to get caught in the rain." Kid jumped, startled that he hadn't noticed that someone was near him, much less that Soul was standing behind him, those red eyes making his heart thump in his chest. The weapon yawned, as if bored, and shrugged off his jacket to drape it around Kid's currently shaking shoulders. The other boy had gotten taller over the last year, he realized, as he now had to look up at him.

"My house is closer than your apartment." He blurted out, wincing almost immediately at how young he sounded. Soul only laughed and nodded, grabbing the young reaper by the hand to lead them both through the rain, for once noticing how the shorter boy's skin was always cold. It worried him, made him gently rub his thumb into the back of Kid's hand.

When Lord Death got home - late, and shaking water from his cloak - he immediately spotted both Soul and Kid on the couch, asleep and curled up together, hands clasped and fingers entwined. Death only smiled and carefully drew a blanket over them, leaving the two boys to wake up tomorrow.

He had to tell Spirit about this tomorrow - Kid was still wearing Soul's jacket, as if he had never quite realized that it wasn't his usual symmetrical style...

 **Reviews always welcome. Sorry this is a bit all over the place, heads kinda fuzzy right now.**


	3. Fitting

**This is a Mifune x Asura, which could be taken as either platonic or romantic, and I know it's an odd pairing, but I can help but wonder what they'd do if they ever met. For the sake of the story, this should be seen as after Archne got Asura to come to her. Surroundings aren't really that important. It's really short, so I'm sorry about that.**

 **Please review! I know it's not all that important, but even a good job or just saying that you liked it would suffice. As always: I don't own Soul Eater!**

The samurai had only been there for a few days before he was already lost, winding his way through the long hallways. He was at least thankful that he'd thought of leaving Angela with someone before he set out on this little exploration of the current surroundings. He adjusted his sword and sighed, pausing for a moment to lean against a wall, ignoring the shock of cold that came through the stone and metal mixture.

A moment longer, and he was once again moving, careful to keep his footsteps quiet. This deep in, he had no idea what could be creeping about. No one else seemed to be here, and that only served to strain his already shot nerves. A sound from up ahead had him jerking to a halt, willing his heart to go back to a proper pace instead of a wild gallop. Mifune edged forward, peering into the rather cavernous room the sound had originated from.

At first, there was no movement. Then, something moved on the bed. _Asura._ The kishin didn't move from where he was, simply laying on the large bed, Archne no where to be seen. Perhaps she was speaking to Mosquito or Giriko, or just hadn't gotten down to this level yet. Whatever the cause of the demon being alone, Mifune wanted nothing to do with him. He turned to go, mumbling an apology for intruding, before one of those strange scarves wrapped around his elbow, almost _gently_ tugging him back into the room.

Reluctant to deny the demon that could tear him apart, the samurai turned back around and walked until his knees hit the edge of the bed Asura was on. He refused to look down, a part of him somewhat...afraid of what he might see if he did. He expected to be killed. He'd leave Angela all alone. Archne wouldn't care about the young girl if her bodyguard couldn't do his job. Angela had no one else to take care of her, only him - a hand on his chest rudely yanked him from his thoughts, and onto the bed.

The bed was softer than he'd thought it would be, and he gasped as his chin hit the kishin's leg. Neither of them moved. Mifune slowly pushed himself up until they were eye level, and stared with some surprise at the almost...innocent red eyes that stared back. So this was the kishin Asura? He looked like a broken, terrified child, seeking protection or shelter.

Or perhaps that was the facade Asura only put up. Either way, the samurai scooted in closer, so that he sat (uneasily) next to the demon who had yet to speak. After a while, he glanced at the kishin, opening his mouth as if to say something, then thought against it and returned to staring silently around the room.

"You're...different." Mifune turned, startled, and stared in what he knew was probably a dumb look.

"Why am I different?" He spoke slowly, relaxing the ready-to-fight pose he'd gone into. Asura didn't answer, cocking his head to the side and continuing to stare at the man in front of him. After a few minutes, in which Mifune had looked down at the bed, long white-blond hair shifting to cover most of his face, Asura moved. He reached and pushed all that hair out of the samurai's face, enjoying the soft gasp he drew from him.

He could be gentle at times, when he truly wanted to be.

They were shoulder to shoulder now, and Mifune had, with only a minor hesitation, thrown his arm over and around the kishin's clothed shoulders. He supposed, out of all that had chosen this path, Asura was of the most sane of mind, and the so far, the easiest to get along with. The kishin laid his head against his shoulder, and he considered how well they seemed to fit, how it was easy to rest his arm over the other man's shoulders, let his hand rest on his collarbone, fingers barely touching skin. Even the easy tilt of Asura's head as he looked up at him, the way his head rested against the soft material of the samurai's shirt, it just seemed to... _they_ just fit.

"If you take three rights and a left after leaving this room you'll find your little witch." Mifune smiled, adjusted his arm, and leaned his cheek against black and white hair.

"I'm fine right here. Angela is safe as long as I work."

His answer got him a genuine smile, and he couldn't help but to return it.

 **Alright, I'll admit, this one got kind of weird. I don't think I write Asura very well, or Mifune. Well, I tried, right? This will probably be the last I write about this oddball pairing, unless it gets requested in the future (which I doubt).**

 **What pairing should I do next?**


	4. Bruises

**No one suggested anything so...more Death x Spirit. A little weird, and more on my take of what Death would look like without his cloak and mask on. As always...PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! The song mentioned is Burning House by Cam.**

 **I do not own Soul Eater in any way.**

Warm hands slid over dark, painful bruises, contrasting against otherwise pale skin. Fingers traced over the thick ink lines of the familiar angel wing tattoo, half covered by an ugly, fading bruise that vaguely resembled a fist, maybe a hand that shoved him too hard. His wandering hands paused at a slim waist, and Death turned to give his unusually quiet lover a questioning look. Spirit could only smile down at him, down at those searching golden eyes, and swallow down his concern...

 _He bruises so easily._

Spirit hums as he rests his chin on Death's shoulder, listening to the opening notes of a song - Death had pulled out his music player to fill the uncomfortable silence. The silence neither wanted to break.

 _I had a dream about a burning house_

 _You were stuck inside I couldn't get you out_

 _I laid beside you and pulled you close_

 _And the two of us went up in smoke_

Death tuned out the music, instead focusing on the steady sound of Spirit's heart beating soundly in his chest. The sound was more comforting than he'd admit. He figured, if anything could say "I love you" more than actual words, it was the synching of two heart beats when alone together. His breath slowed to match the other man's pattern, and he felt more than saw the redhead's smile.

The front door opening and the sound of voices broke the moment. Death slowly stood as he heard Kid's voice calling out for him, and he sighed and turned, frigid fingers tangling in blood red hair. He dipped down, Spirit leaned up, their lips met half way, and the God couldn't help but chuckle as warm fingers skittered over his sides, as if attempting to pull him back into his weapon's warm embrace. He was tempted, but he could hear the agitation in his son's voice, and with one last, nearly desperate, loving kiss; he grabbed his shirt and started down the stairs, the music turning off a moment later to leave Spirit in silence, simply thinking.

About dark bruises on pale skin, about angel wing tattoos, about pale pink lips and messy black hair, about cold hands and teasing eyes. He still couldn't get it out of head...

 _He bruises so easily._


	5. Kiss Me Sweeter

**A Black*Star x Death the Kid moment. It's short: sorry.**

 **I do not own Soul Eater. Please leave a review, I need the feedback to know what to fix.**

"You have sooo many books!"

Kid looked up at the blue haired meister, rolling his eyes at the statement. He didn't deign to give Black*Star a reply, either, instead focusing on the book in his hands. He'd agreed to let the other boy into his room, but under the agreement that they would be studying and nothing else. He let out a sigh, electing to ignore the noises of the other boy stomping around his room like he owned it.

Which he probably thought he did.

"What's this?"

Kid turned, heart skipping a beat when he realized what Black*Star had in his hands; a small white rabbit plush, worn out from years of use, one of its eyes replaced by a shiny black button. He started for a long moment, revisiting the urge to snatch his precious childhood toy from the stupid meister's destructive hands. His Father had made that for him when he was still young, and he could still vividly remember his Father's careful stitching when the eye fell off.

"Please give that to me." He reached for the rabbit, book on the ground and forgotten. Black*Star leaned back, holding the soft plush away from the young reaper.

"Why? It's just a stupid toy. Aren't you supposed to be all grown up anyway?" He almost flung the toy back where he'd found it (on the nightstand, one of them anyway), but saw the desperate look in his friend's eyes. Slowly, the assassin offered the rabbit to Kid, watching those golden eyes go wide with surprise. He'd been expecting a fight to get the toy back.

"Thank you." He clutched the toy to his chest, feeling the worn down white fur. The bed shifted, and then lips were pressed against his forehead, and he audibly gasped and jerked back to look at a blushing Black*Star.

"Sorry, didn't think it was all that important...but it is to you so...it's important to the great Black*Star too!" Kid laughed as the other boy jumped up and yelled, internally grateful that his friend thought so highly of his own values. But...He reached up to pull Black*Star back down, smiling almost shyly at him, the lingering touch of lips one his skin stuck in his mind. He leaned forward at the same time that Kid did, and they met halfway, the kiss sweet and chaste, and they pulled away with flushed faces and soft smiles.

Picking up his forgotten book, he turned to his suddenly more-than-a-friend and curled into his side. Black*Star threw an arm around Kid's shoulder and settled back as the young reaper read their required book aloud, paying more attention to the soft, warm tone he was using than the words themselves.

 _I'm starting to like studying, I think._

 **As always, reviews are appreciated, and I'm sort of running out of ships I like to put up here. Stein x Spirit next, or something else? Haven't done anything with the girls yet...**


	6. Stitches and Kisses

**A rare pair (I guess?) Stein x Death. Just a short one, friend asked me to write it. Be warned; there be creepy Stiens aahead.**

 **I do not own Soul Eater.**

 _Crank. Crank. Crank._

Stein sighed, letting his hand fall from the screw in his head. The Gallows manor creaked and groaned around him, as old houses were want to do. This house especially, considering that it's dark oak walls had stood here longer than its current occupants. He started down the long hallway, acutely aware of the sound of someone playing the piano, and of how the eyes of each painting he passed seemed to follow his movement. Creepy old house - or maybe it was just him. The hall twisted, doubling back towards the front rooms, but he'd already found his destination.

The doctor stopped in front of the door, where he could hear the source of the music. He pushed the heavy door open, the piano playing now much clearer, and he could see just who was the source. The black haired man showed no sign of having heard Stein's entrance, and continued to play uninterrupted, pale hands sweeping over the russet keys of the ancient piano, creating a rather beautiful melody.

Stein picked his way across the room, getting close enough to run his fingers through wild, soft black hair. Death stopped playing with a jerk, head turning upwards to stare up at the mad doctor with confused golden eyes. He hasn't heard the man come in, nor had he heard him walk across the rarely used room.

"Everyone is wondering where you went. You're worrying your son." Stein murmured, leaning further down to rest his forward against the exposed, cold skin of Death's shoulder. Frigid fingers reached up to stroke silver-grey hair, moving slowly to trace over the stitched scar running across the mad doctor's face. He knew that his sudden disappearance had worried Kid, but hadnt realized that it had thrown his...kind of lover off as well.

"I simply needed to think." Stein smiled against the god's shoulder, placing a hand on his chest, slinging the other arm around to rest comfortably over the pale god's shoulder. Death leaned back into the mad doctor's chest, dark eyes half closed as he quietly hummed the melody he'd just been playing. He was loath to move from his spot, the doctor was warm enough for both of them, but he _did_ have work to do, and a son to take care of...

He reached up again, this time to grasp the screw on the side of his dear doctor's head and crank it until - _click._

Death grinned, triumphant, and turned his head to place a kiss upon the scar on Stein's face, pulling from his embrace to stand and stretch. He started towards the door, glancing back at his dumbfounded lover.

"Come. We shouldn't let them wait any longer."


	7. Threats

**Justin x Giriko, swearing up ahead.**

 **I don't own Soul Eater. Or any songs mentioned.**

Justin leaned back against the rough bark of a fallen tree, eyes closed and head back, earphones in and music blaring. Mmm, Disturbed really was the best way to start the day, in the young death scythe's opinion. Even if it seemed like no else enjoyed his style of music, it didn't bother him too much. It was sort of worth it when his earphones did come out and he could see the surprised look on someone's face at the music a priest listened to.

The feeling of being watched took over the blond, and he opened one sky blue eye to glare up at a far too familiar face.

"Giriko." The chainsaw grinned down at the relaxing priest, blowing air onto his face and laughing when the younger man grimaced and pushed himself up into a sitting position so that he could turn and give him an awfully angry stare. He wished the chainsaw would quit it with that smile - it made him feel bad, considering he rarely showed his actual emotions. Especially since he knew Grikio's grin was more or less faked by his so called madness.

"Please leave me be." He turned away, hoping that the other man would take the hint and leave him alone. The hand on his chin, forcing him to look up at the engineer told him that he wasn't going to get his wish.

"If I left you alone I wouldn't have someone to amuse me. Come on priest boy~ don't leave me hanging!" Justin frowned and grabbed Giriko's wrist, twisting and digging his fingernails into the skin. There was a yelp and then the chainsaw let go, shaking his hand and cursing the priest up and down. Not that he knew - he had turned away to turn the volume of his music up, until a hand ripped his earphones from his ears.

"Give those back!" Justin leapt to his feet, hands clenched into fists as he watched Giriko swing his earphones and mp3 player teasingly.

"What would you do for 'em?" Giriko stopped laughing when a hand grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward into what he'd thought was a headbutt, but when lips met his he froze, staring in utter dumbfounded shock and surprise. The priest, face flush with embarrassment, snatched his mp3 away from him and backed up, swallowing nervously.

"I'm gonna kick your holy ass for that ya damn priest...and then I'm gonna show ya how a real kiss should go!" Before he could go through with his threat Justin had already bolted towards his car, laughter echoing through the trees.

"Don't threaten me with a good time!" He yelled back at Giriko, snickering when the chainsaw tripped upon seeing the young death scythe miming blowing a kiss.

Perhaps this was a better way of spending his morning. Being chased down by his angry, furiously blushing, rival.

Of course, he wasn't sure how he'd explain this whole ordeal to Lord Death...


	8. Tattoos and Flowers

**In which Maka finds out that Kid has a tattoo. Maka x Kid can be taken as platonic.**

 **I do not own Soul Eater**

She really should have just said no when Death the Kid asked her to help him in his garden. It was a sunny, nice day, which she had no complaints about, but Kid insisted that each plant be perfectly exact with the one across from it. Considering that each plant was different in some way...

"Kid, how about we take a break? I told Soul I'd call and tell him how things are going." Maka suggested, keeping her tone as soft as she could, looking towards the young reaper. Ok, maybe she did have a complaint about the heat. When Kid had answered the door, he'd completely forgone his regular clothing. His black shorts kept drawing her eyes to his legs (which were noticeably free of all hair and were scarily pale).

"Mm, you're right. Let me plant this last one so that the garden is balanced and then we can go inside. There's fruit in the basket on the table, and I believe Father cut up a watermelon and put it in the fridge." Kid didn't seem to notice her wandering eyes, and if he did he said nothing about it to the scythe meister. Maka nodded, stood and brushed dirt off of her knees before heading towards the open back door. She took off her sandals and set them beside the door, not wanting to track anything onto the dark stained wood floors of the Gallows manor.

Glancing back at Kid, she frowned at him. It looked like there was something on his ankle, but she couldn't quite make it out. She shrugged; she'd ask him when he came in. The kitchen wasn't hard to find, seeing as how all one needed to do was follow the scent of baking, though the room was devoid of anyone cooking. Just a bit unnerved, Maka examined the kitchen, surprised to find everything seemed so...disorganized. She took an apple from the basket and sat down, waiting for Kid.

The young reaper pulled off his sandals and placed them neatly by the door, on the opposite side of Maka's sandals, and then walked silently through the quiet house, heading towards the kitchen.

"There's a phone in the hallway, if you need to call Soul." Kid walked past her, towards the fridge. Hearing the other meister's footsteps, he sighed, believing that she had gone to call her weapon partner. He still didn't know why they worked so well together - they were just so different, and the white haired weapon was always so rude to everyone, while Maka was always so caring and warm...

A tap on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts, and he turned to find Maka right behind him. Before he could speak and ask her what she wanted, the girl was pointing towards his feet.

"Is that a tattoo?" He blushed, nodding. Liz had insisted he get one a few months after hed made her and Patty his weapons, and he had stupidly agreed.

"D-don't tell anyone, ok? Especially don't tell my Father! He has no idea I have it." Maka knelt down to better see it. It was just a little skull with curling ram horns and three prominent teeth, done in all black and white. She stood back up and smiled warmly at the young reaper, ignoring how his blush deepened.

"I like it. Doesn't Liz have one like that too?"

"Sh-she insisted I get one to match her and Patty."

"...maybe I should get one. To match. And it would piss off papa too!"

He could only smile as she went off on a tangent about her dad, and leaned against the cool steel of the fridge, suddenly deciding that he rather liked gardening with the scythe meister.


	9. My World

**More Mifune x Asura,** **because for some reason I sort of developed a weird liking to this oddball rare pair. Now with surprise Angela.**

0000

"Dont go too far Angela." He called ahead, eyes on the bobbing hat of the little witch, hand on the hilt of his katana. He could vividly remember the last time he'd been down this hallway, black and white hair soft against his cheek, feeling the rise and fall of someone else breathing next to him, the feel of a hand in his.

Mifune blinked and rolled his shoulders back, realizing that Angela had stopped in front of - oh no.

"Why are you all alone? Are you lonely?" The little witch asked, running into the room without waiting for the samurai to catch up. By the time he ran in after her, she was on the floor with none other than Asura, showing him her crude drawings of her and her guardian.

"He uses swords to beat up bad guys and he always protects me and sometimes he sings to me when I'm not feeling well! He's the best ever! Neh, do you wanna draw with me? Mifune doesn't like drawing. I think that's why he doesn't have a girlfriend." Asura folded back his scarves, glancing at the now flushed samurai before turning back to Angela, who was trying to hand the kishin a crayon. He accepted it with a confused look, simply holding it while the witch continued talking. Hiding his smile, Mifune walked over and sat down behind Angela, raising a questioning eyebrow at the other man.

While Angela chattered excitedly between them, they threw glances at each other, and odd hand gestures to attempt to convey either two emotions; amusement or embarrassment. Mifune supposed it was a good thing when his charge started to yawn and abandoned her crayons and paper to flop into his lap, fast asleep only minutes later, little hands gripping the hem of his shirt.

"...I can see why you care so much about her." Asura picked up the scattered papers, setting them into a neat and tidy pile, all of the little girl's crayons put back into the box and set on top of the stack. He smiled and pushed the stack out of the way before scooting over to sit beside Mifune. The samurai shifted and slid an arm around the kishin, the motion smooth and almost too gentle.

"She's more or less my _entire_ world now." He didn't react as Asura rested his head on his shoulder, simply smiled and started humming softly, wondering just how he ended up here. In this room. With a kishin against his shoulder and his charge's drawings of herself, Mifune...and Asura.

This job was _so_ great.

And it seemed his world just got one person bigger.

 **0000**

 **This pairing is suddenly edging its way to the top ten and I both hate it and love it. I am officially in rare pair hell.**


	10. Dancing and Moving

**Stein x Spirit, Stein wants to dance with Spirit but neither knows who should lead. They eventually figure it out.**

 **I do not own Soul Eater.**

 **0000**

The last time there was any kind of dancing done, Medusa had let Asura free, and they never for the chance to actual dance with each other. Of course, Spirit did get an uneasy dance with his beloved daughter, and Stein had...well, he had _something_ with Medusa.

"You're stepping on my toes." Stein frowned down at the redhead, shifting his stance once again so that he wasn't on top of the scythe's shoes. They were standing in the middle of the weapon's apartment, his really _tiny_ apartment. It made Stein feel bad for his old partner, how he was living here with just enough room to turn around in and he was living in his mostly empty lab, a building far too big for just himself...

"Hey, pay attention. I can't dance on my own." They'd both stopped, staring at each other. The sound of a piano played softly in the background, and the mad doctor couldn't help but feel stupid for doing this. He had told himself it was just another experiment when they'd started this, but when he had the redhead in his grasp like this, with his hair pulled back into a messy, loose ponytail, jacket and tie thrown over the back of his sofa, hands on Stein like this...

"Stein. _Please._ " the doctor smiled down at the weapon, leaning forward to gently bump their foreheads together. After adjusting his grip on Spirit's hand and waist, he started again, forcing Spirit into moving along with the slow, swaying dance his old meister had suddenly conjured up out of seemingly no where.

"Senpia...I think you should move in with me. This place is too tiny and...my place is too big for just me." Spirit blinked in surprise, before beaming up at Stein.

"Never thought _you_ would be lonely. If you were anyone else, I'd say this is moving too fast - but you've never really been one to take things slow." The redhead leaned up on his toes, catching Stein off guard with a sweet, chaste kiss.

"I'll have to notify Lord Death of my moving in with you. And give Maka the new address. But...we can see how this goes. No experimenting on me though."

"Deal. We'll have more room to dance at my place too."

"Shut up, you're stepping on my toes again."


	11. Memories and Families

**Platonic Stein x Justin Law, Stein x Spirit if you squint. Hints at a father/son relationship between Stein and Justin.**

 **I do not own Soul Eater.**

 **0000**

A certain blond priest was leaning over the stone railing that overlooked the entrance to the DWMA, knuckles white from how hard he gripped the stone he leaned against. His sky blue eyes were trained down below him, where the final bell had released the students and the young meisters and weapons had set off for wherever Friday afternoon led them. If he looked closely enough, he could even see Maka Albarn and her scythe weapon, accompanied by her group of friends. Death the Kid walked next to her, although his focus seemed to be more on Soul. Not all that surprising; Lord Death had dropped the hint that they were dating, blunt enough for him to know what was going on.

Justin sighed, and turned away from the ledge, just in time to see Stein coming towards him on his now infamous chair. The doctor slowed down and smiled at the young death scythe, a cigarette dangling precariously from his slack mouth. The priest barely managed to return the smile. Even now, he struggled to find a reason to genuinely show happiness, or even fake a smile. Sure, he found himself smirking when fighting with a worthy opponent, or snickering at a certain redhead's antics, but true emotions were somewhat out of reach...

A scarred hand waving in front of his face grabbed his attention out of his thoughts, and glanced down - _no_ , up - into the concerned face of Franken Stein. He was frowning down at the young priest, eyes hidden by his thick glasses.

"Trapped in your mind again, Justin?" The mad doctor moved past him to lean over the ledge, though presumably he was still looking at the younger man. Justin had looked away to pull his earphones out of his ears.

"Not as much as you are Dr Stein." He bit his bottom lip, practically _tasting_ the disrespectful tone he'd used. Before he'd come to the DWMA, being disrespectful got him beaten and bruised, but here, right now, Stein only laughed, once a sinister sound, now one that reassured Justin that he was safe from the doctor's wrath.

"That's unfortunately true. Something on your mind?" Justin turned his gaze towards the ground, at his scuffed black boots, reluctant to admit that even he - as holy as he thought himself - was feeling the pressure of the Madness the Kishin Asura emitted. If anyone would understand, it would be Stein.

"I'm...I'm just worried about the Kishin."

"You're feeling it too."

Justin tensed, hunching his shoulders and holding his breath; the doctor was always far too observant of the priest's emotions. Probably because of how much time he'd spent with him before he became one of Lord Death's weapons. He could still remember that day he first walked up the steps, only to be stopped by a scarred hand, belonging to a man with a screw in his head and thick glasses hiding his dull eyes from view.

 _"Aren't you a little young to be here?" Nine (days away from being ten) year old Justin turned his distraught gaze up to the tall man kneeling in front of him, feeling fear squeeze at his insides._

 _"No. I'm gonna be a student here." His young voice answered, and he was proud that it didn't falter at all, and he sounded confident, even if he really wasn't. The man chuckled, and grinned a toothy, scary grin down at the young boy. Who was, strangely enough, dressed in all black, and wore a cross necklace around his thin neck. He'd tossed his earphones over his shoulder before he started the trek up the stairs, but now he wished he hadn't._

 _The next words the man spoke scared him, and he wished he hadn't heard the way his voice got giddy and excited._

 _"You'll be an interesting experiment. I can't wait to see what you do." The man leaned down, and Justin scrunched up his nose in disgust at the smell of smoke on the man's breath._

 _"Hey! Stein!" Both turned, a redhead barreling towards them. "Stein" smiled and lifted a hand in greeting to the other man._

 _"Spirit, look what I found. He wants to be a student." Justin cringed, taking hold of his cross and taking a deep breath, mantra going through his head._

 _Ignore everyone, keep your head down, don't draw attention to yourself._

 _"I will be a student here. I will not accept no as an answer." Both the men seemed surprised by his declaration, and the redhead chuckled. It was a warm, friendly sound, one that pulled him towards the man._

 _"Come on then, we'll take you to see Lord Death. I think he knew you were coming. I'm Spirit Albarn, this is Franken Stein."_

 _"I...I'm Justin Law. I'm a guillotine."_

Justin shook himself out of his thoughts, and turned to look down at the last groups of students leaving.

"I can't let it effect me. Weapons here...they've told me they look up to me. I _can't_ let them down. I can not, will not, be the disappointment my father was." Stein shifted, put an arm around the priest's shoulders. For a long moment, he didn't say anything. Then, he snuffed out his cigarette and leaned over to kiss the younger man on the forehead, as he had done when the guillotine wasn't yet a death scythe.

"You'll never be like him. Your soul is a pure one; Spirit and I made sure you were brought like that. Just don't forget your mantra, and don't forget the family you have here. And...you know where to find me if you ever want to talk. I have papers to grade, why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

Justin watched him leave, smiling despite himself. His mantra ran through his mind, and he relaxed.

Stand tall, don't be pushed back, and never let the enemy get a grip on your mind.


	12. Surprise

**First off...otakugirl88 thanks for the review! Kind of ironic too, considering I had this Spirit x Death lined up to be the next chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoy. :)**

 **0000**

Lord Death held a book in one hand, the other holding a spoon and idly stirring his coffee, which was probably lukewarm by now. His gaze was much more focused on the pages of his book, not really paying much attention to anything else. Which was why he didn't realize Spirit had walked in until warm hands slid over the thin sleeves of his white dress shirt. He would later say he didn't yelp, and threaten Spirit with bodily harm if he said otherwise. For now...

"A warning would've been nice." Death turned to glare at the redhead, thumping him in the chest with his book; just hard enough to get him to move away and give the reaper some space. Spirit only snickered, taking a step back to lean against the marble island, elbows bumping the fruit bowl.

"Yeah, but at least I got your attention on something that's not that damn book." He scrunched up his nose at the use of the profanity, placing his book down next to his forgotten coffee (which was cold now). He straightened his shirt sleeves, pretending to ignore his lover; this way when he swept forward to catch him in a kiss _Spirit_ was the one making a rather embarrassing noise. Death pulled away with a satisfied laugh, reddish golden eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You're worse than a child sometimes, you know that, right?" The weapon grumbled, stepping forward to trap the slightly shorter man between himself and the counter. His half hearted words only got him a soft hum and a warm smile, so different from his cold skin. Spirit leaned forward, pressing his lips to Death's temple, trailing soft kisses down to his jawline. Pulling away, only enough to see the now flushed face of the god, hot breath billowing out onto the other man's neck.

"But I _suppose_ I'm worse." He murmured against Death's mouth, making the reaper shiver. The redhead withdrew with the faintest of smiles on his usually expressive face, reluctant to pull away so soon; his lover would probably want to get back to his work. And he had promised Patty that he'd help her with her math homework...

A gentle, cool hand pushing his hair from his face ripped him from these thoughts, and he glanced down at the smiling God.

"Come on, I'm tired and I _need_ my heater to sleep." Death placed his untouched coffee into the sink, tucked his book under his arm, and grabbed Spirit's hand to lead him out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. He knew there was a pile of work waiting for him in his study, but that same pile would be there later, and right now his lover was more important than some silly paperwork.

Plus, being in Spirit's arms, warm and surrounded by gangly limbs, being able to hear and feel his own heartbeat match the redhead's...that beat the risk of falling behind _every_ damn time.


	13. My Wallflower, My Rose

**Alright guys, this chapter is the** ** _last one_** **I'll do until I get in some actual requests for different pairings; I want to put most of my focus on Scars Unseen and the start up of Kiss Me Sane (title pending). It ties in with the medieval Au I have going, but can be seen as any sort of old timey au. (Bonus if you can figure out the pairing in here)**

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The first time he saw her, he was planting red roses along the border of the great castle, and couldn't help but stare up at her, standing like a statue on her balcony. When she looked down at him with those emerald eyes, he could see that she wasn't really seeing him. He bowed quickly and left silently, sweet smelling dirt still coating his hands and her green eyes burned into his memory.

The first time she saw him, she was walking with her father, ignoring his constant babbling about how good it was to be with her. He was crouched among the trees, clearing away broken branches and dead plants to make room for a young sapling. He dropped an harmful of debris into a wheelbarrow, and he caught her gaze with deep red eyes that burned like a raging fire. She looked away first, unable to stand the intensity of his gaze. He watched her until she turned the corner with her father and he could no longer see her.

The first time he touched her, she'd approached him from behind, and quietly told him that a kitten had gotten stuck in one of the bigger trees. He'd straightened up and brushed dirt from his pants. He looked at her with those same red eyes, but now they were soft like the dying embers in a fire place. Her breath caught in her throat when he took her slim, unblemished hand in his own rough one, years of gardening and tough labor making them scarred and covered in calluses. He simply asked her which tree, and she led him there. When he left to go back to his work, she was reluctant to let go, and the warmth from his grip lingered in her fingers.

The first she touched him, a storm had ripped one of the oldest trees out of the ground by its roots. She found him cursing the bad luck and had gasped when he punched the thick trunk. His hand came away red and scratched, and she reached to touch the back of his tanned neck. He'd turned to look at her in surprise, and the anger in his gaze faded at the worry in her clear, warm emerald eyes. He leaned forward into her gentle touch, and they stood that way for what felt like a life time before they moved away and she softly asked him to check on the ivy outside her window.

The first time they kissed, he climbed the ivy outside her window and touched their lips together in the softest, sweetest way he knew how, and she asked him to stay with her, to chase away the cold and darkness with the sweet scent of flowers and the earthy fragrance of soil and tree sap. He had stayed, holding her in his scarred hands, and showed her all the piano he knew, showed her what he could in the little time they had in that one night.

The first time someone found out, the Prince had simply smiled and nodded at them, and told him to take good care of her. He'd given them forgiveness for their forbidden relationship, and had given them a way out. A country house in need of a new owner and a new pianist. She jumped at the chance to leave her overbearing father behind, and he followed her, leaving behind his plants and flowers and joined her at the new house.

The first time they said "I love you" was at their wedding, with her father giving her away, and the king giving them both his blessing. They had kissed then, for the first time in front of more than the night sky and the grinning moon. She'd leaned against him when they left on horseback. He had brought her to the very place they first met, when there had only been a longing and an intense, strange need to be within the other's orbit. There, he slid a rose behind her ear, the bright red contrasting against her blond hair, he took her hands and made her a promise he swore to keep until he took his last breath.

Forever would their love be as sweet as the first time they kissed, and forever would he protect with the intensity she'd first seen in his blood red eyes. That he promised her.

And that promise did he keep.


	14. The German Girl

**Oh God look at this I'm actually alive. A friend of mine hasn't been having the best week ever, so I decided to write something for them based on their own headcanons and this is their au, not mine (but it's adorable). The little girl is their oc as well. The main pairing is Stein X Lord Death with a side of Death the Kid X Maka. And one adorable**

 **I don't own anything!**

 **0000**

As the grand mirror finally went dark, the last disaster taken care of for the day, Lord Death visibly sagged and breathed out a sigh of relief. As much as he loved his job - and he did, he really did - sometimes it took far too much out of him and left him feeling tired and empty. He blinked eyes hidden by his mask and shook his head to hopefully clear his thoughts of work.

"Papa!"

Death turned, reaper guise dissolving so that the young girl could see his smile. Dressed in a white, heavy sweater, with a pair of blood red shorts over a pair of black tights, she had long, thick ash-white hair and pale skin. Her white boots made no sound on the floor as she ran up to the reaper, holding her arms up to him in a silent gesture of want.

"Hey sweetheart, how was your day?" He bent down to scoop up the eight year old, glad that she'd inherited his shortness. For now, anyway. Soon he wouldn't be able to pick her up so easily...

"Good!" She grinned, attention pulled down to straightening her droopy sleeves before she looked back up at her papa with those green, gold speckled eyes. Death smiled back down at her, golden eyes squinting with the motion. An almost sinister laugh caught both of their attention, and Death found his smile growing upon seeing the rather infamous mad doctor. Stein only waved a hand, cigarette in hand. The gesture left a trail of acrid smoke in the air, and Death couldn't help but to scrunch up his nose (an expression that his daughter, Hanna, immediately mimicked) and shoot a glare at the silver haired man.

"Time to go home my träumer~." Stein held out his arms for the little girl, and Death transferred her to the other man. He swept his thick black hair back into place, quietly following Stein out through the guillotine hallway, listening to his daughter giggle and speak rapidly in German with the doctor. His hands itched to check on Kid, but he knew his son wouldn't appreciate having his date with his girlfriend interrupted. Maybe he'd send Maka a message and ask if everything was alright. Or would that be too forward? They'd only been dating for a few weeks...

"You're going to get wrinkles if you squint like that." Death sighed, frowning at the taller man. His daughter was nearly asleep, head resting on Stein's shoulder, face partially hidden by her hair.

"I can't get wrinkles. And I don't squint." He straightened his black dress shirt, fiddling with one of the top buttons.

"You do to! Hanna, does your papa squint?" Hanna nodded sleepily, fighting back a yawn. Both men chuckled at the girl's apparent exhaustion, and hurried to get home, their conversation completely forgotten.

Death nudged open the door to the Gallows manor, plucking up a note Kid must have left for the older reaper to find. He didn't bother reading it, making a beeline to the kitchen to start preparations for dinner. He listened to the giggles of Hanna and the sound of her playing with her many toys.

Focusing on chopping bell peppers, he didn't notice Stein entering the kitchen. When he turned to dump the peppers into a bowl he caught sight of the doctor standing in the threshold, and, as childishly as it was, he stuck his tongue out and turned back to the vegetables lined up to be cut up. Of course, hi action got him exactly what he wanted; Stein behind him, arms around his waist and warm breath against the back of his neck, holding him a loose embrace. Death hid his smile and placed an onion on the cutting board, leaning back into the warmth of the other man, and focusing on the stinging smell of the onion and the slice of the knife.

"Daddy!"

"She's calling for you." Death turned to poke Stein in the side, making the mad doctor sigh and reluctantly let go of the reaper. He leaned in to ghost his lips over the exposed patch of skin on Death's shoulder, running steady fingers down the god's arm, grinning at the delicious shiver the touch resulted in.

"You do squint by the way. When you laugh, not just when you worry." Lord Death smiled, but didn't bother to look at the taller man, knowing he was already out the door. He could hear Hanna's loud laughter mingling with her father's deep voice, and he couldn't help but to smile and listen to the rather calming sound. He supposed they were lucky Hanna didn't take after Stein personality wise, despite being his mini clone. It was still strange to tell people that both of them were the young girl's parents, considering it wasn't common knowledge how a death god reproduced. And he already had Kid, which made if more awkward...

"Father!"

Speaking of children. Lord Death shouted that he was in the kitchen, snickering to himself when he heard Maka's voice rise above his son's to call out to Hanna. The scythe meister had taken on the role of a big sister to Hanna, and he couldn't be more grateful of Kid's girlfriend. Footsteps came towards the kitchen, and Death sent a quick prayer to his very dead father that no one made a grab for a knife or the boiling pot of water.

Or offered to help. He didn't trust none of the children with food. Or Stein. _Especially_ Stein.

0000

 **Träumer is German for dreamer! At least, that's what my friend has told me. I'm learning French, not German, so please don't hate me if I butchered it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the shenanigans of the reaper family (and of Hanna, she's just so freaking cute!). Maka would be great with kids, and I love that this Au let's me explore that part for her with her relationship with Kid's little adorable German-speaking sister.**


	15. Not Your Fault

**Platonic Stein X Spirit as young students.**

 **0000**

The side of the road is quiet at night. Only the occasional screech of a car breaks the silence, accompanied by the sounds of nocturnal animals in the undergrowth and their own lonely footsteps. Their mission could have gone worse, but it hadn't been at their usual level of performance.

Spirit looked over his shoulder at the younger boy, watching his grey-ish silver hair sway with every slow step. The boy's dull green eyes were downcast, staring at his now dusty shoes. He half heartedly kicked at a rock, pulling at the straps of his backpack almost nervously. Stein probably didn't want to report to Lord Death about their less than stellar success. The young boy seemed to be obsessed with being the number one meister-weapon team, and often became distant when they did fail, though that was rarely ever. And they didn't fail this time, they got close, but they won in the end.

Spirit frowned and turned back to watching the road, squinting at the next set of headlights coming towards them.

"Spirit."

"What?" The redhead spat over his shoulder. "What do you want now?"

"...I just..." The younger male flinched at the harsh tone, looking down at his shoes. "..I'm sorry. I failed and we didn't do as well as we should have. It was my fault - I got distracted and messed up. I'd understand if you want a new partner...I know I wasn't your first choice."

Spirit turned completely around, shocked beyond words. Stein _apologizing_?! He rarely ever did that! And when he did he rarely ever meant it.

The other boy had stopped, although he wasn't looking at the scythe. Wasn't paying any attention to his weapon. He'd gone to the edge of the road, hand out and thumb up. He'd pulled a flashlight out of his pocket aiming it at the ground. More cars passed by without slowing down, and the wind caused his hair to cover his eyes for a moment.

"You're not - we didn't - Stein!" Spirit ground his teeth together, reaching out to the meister. Before he could grab him by the bag, a car slowed down and stopped, and a young man poked his head out of the open window.

"Hey there kids! Where ya headin' to?"

"Death City. We're students at the DWMA. Can you take us down that way?" The man nodded and motioned for them to get into the back of his truck, and then Stein was moving and climbing in among the hay stacks the man was hauling. Spirit hesitated, then joined him, picking at the pale straw around them.

"You weren't my first choice." The redhead continued. "But I know now that you were the best choice, and I do not regret anything. Sti - Franken, you're my friend. I'm not gonna abandon you. Now get over here, you're shivering, and I don't want to report to Death with a frozen meister."

He didn't get a verbal response, but he still grinned when his silver haired meister immediately pressed against him, abnormally skinny body shivering with the cold winds made by the racing car. He sighed, rubbing his hand up and down his meister's back.

"You're such an idiot sometimes, but you're my idiot, you got that?"

"Thanks, Spirit."


	16. It's All Superficial

**To that absolutely wonderful guest, this is for you! A short Marie x Death (Marie's. Abit harder to write than I thought she was) and next up is more Asura x Mifune! Thank you so much for your review, it gave me more motivation to continue with these!**

 **0000**

She was never going to find a decent man to settle down with. She would never have the family she dreamed of so often. Her temper and her abilities always ended up making any eligible suitors turn tail and run away. It didn't help that her current meister was borderline insane, or that she turned into a weapon meant to crush and destroy.

She supposed all those men were right to flee; she was hard to get along with, even she'd admit that. The only man who seemed to enjoy her company was Stein, but he'd made it clear that he wasn't interested in a relationship that didn't include his scalpel (a very scary picture there). There was also Lord Death, but he was always so chipper and happy, she couldn't imagine the goofy god disliking anyone without good reason.

"Eh, Marie?"

Said goofy god was attempting to draw the weapon's attention back to the meeting at hand. She flushed and straightened up, noting the way Death's voice seemed to drop into a more serious tone as he asked her if she was alright, but dismissed it when he turned back to the topic of the meeting with his usual silly voice.

Marie leaned back in her chair, letting out a slow exhale. The god must think she was a complete airhead, considering how many times she had let her mind wander during important meetings. Death Scythe certainly looked down at her, if the looks he shot her were anything to go by. He always looked so disappointed. Or perhaps...maybe those looks were because Stein was her meister, and not his. It would explain how the redhead always seemed tongue tied around the mad doctor, and how Stein himself seemed flustered in his presence.

Realizing everyone else was about to leave, she eagerly grabbed her purse, happy to leave the Death Room behind.

"Marie, could you stay behind? I'd like a word with you in private." The other Death Weapons looked surprised, and suspicious, all except Justin, who only beamed at the god and winked - _winked_ \- at Marie. Did the young guillotine know something she didn't? Oh god, was she going to be fired, or reassigned to some far off country?!

"Marie, please don't give me that look." _Oh._ He sounded so tired when he didn't use his childish voice. "Are you alright? You seemed...distracted during the meeting. Did something happen?"

"Oh! No, nothing's wrong!" She shook her head, though she couldn't help but feel like a burden; Lord Death already had so much to worry about, he didn't need to worry about her well being as well. "I'm honestly fine, please don't worry."

He continued to stare down at her, obviously not believing her. Marie's smile faltered once, twice, three times before finally wilting and she hung her head, knowing she'd have to tell him the completely pathetic reason for her distraction and for her sorrow.

"I'm unwanted. No one ever wants to have a real relationship with me, and I'll never get the wedding I want."

"...weddings are just fancy ceremonies that, really, don't mean a whole lot. You are definitely not unwanted either - you're one of my best death weapons, and I am very happy that you didn't give up on getting to where you are now. So cheer up, ok? Try to be a bit positive!"

Marie stared in slack jawed amazement at the god, feeling an odd fluttering where her heart was. She realized how shallow she had sounded, and flushed red with embarrassment.

"No, no, what I meant was well...I want a family, I want the thing that goes with the marriage, with the wedding or without it. I want someone to love and care about me. I'm getting older and older, with nothing like that insight and I...have you ever loved someone so much, that you'd do anything for them?" She didn't see his hesitant nod, her eye fixed on the ground.

"That's what I want. I want that kind of love."

Hands - normal sized ones, and cold to touch - gripped her shoulders, and she looked up to find the actual face of Lord Death looking down at her.

"That's a rare kind. I'm not sure it's around anymore, but I wish you luck in finding it." He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his reddish golden eyes, and she finally understood just why Justin had given her that wink. Lord Death was, in all meanings of the term, _alone._ In his life, his work, even though he had a son, he was alone. He didn't have anyone he could turn to.

He let go of her before she could say anything, could reach out towards him. He flipped the hood of his cloak back up, and she saw those sad, sad eyes disappear underneath a familiar white mask. Could a god really love a mortal? Could this god love her?

Well...she'd just have to find that out, wouldn't she?

"Lord Death, forgive me if I offend you, but...would you like to go get a coffee with me? You seem like you need a break. The world won't fall apart in the twenty minutes you're clocked out, we humans are a bit better than that!"

When he agreed, she couldn't help but grin; she couldn't wait to tell Stein that she had had a kind-of date with Death himself.


	17. Take the Initiative

**As I promised, here's more Asura x Mifune. Now with more affection and a lot of dialog at the end.**

 **0000**

He didn't understand the samurai, or the weird fluttering feeling he got every time their hands brushed together, or when the other man leaned in to speak to him, pale hair brushing against his shoulder and sending the smell of cinnamon and something tropical his way.

He didn't understand the way his heart beat faster whenever he managed to make Mifune laugh, or the way the smallest contact had him blushing like an immature school girl with a crush.

The samurai was with him now, leaning against Asura's crossed legs and focusing on the book in his hands. He wondered, briefly, what this book was about - the last one had been a crime novel - and peered over the blond's shoulder to read along with him.

"As anyone ever told you that you're very distracting." Mifune turned his sharp gaze up to look into red eyes, the faintest glimmer of amusement evident there in the pale brown of his eyes. Goddamn it, there his heart went, beating wildly away in his chest. Mifune smiled up at Asura before turning his attention back to his book, long hair falling around his face and effectively hiding those sharp brown eyes.

The kishin frowned, hand coming up before he could think about it to gently tuck that sinfully soft hair behind one ear, leaning so close and unable to tear his gaze away from the startled samurai's wide eyes.

"Asura I..."

He didn't know who leaned in first, whether it was him or Mifune, but the moment the blond's lips brushed over his he completely forgot his train of thought. He tasted like candy, with the barest hint of something soft and indescribable; he wanted more, more of soft, smooth lips and that almost innocent gasp the samurai released when Asura bit down on his bottom lip, not quite hard enough to make him bleed, but more than enough.

They pulled apart, breathing heavily and just staring at each other.

"I've never been kissed like that before."

"I've never kissed anyone before."

His own response surprised him, and he leaned back, worried how Mifune would react once he gathered his wits about himself. After all, he _had_ just kissed a kishin, a being who radiated madness, and wasn't he against kishins in the first place?

Asura never thought that the samurai would lean forward and kiss him again, this time a far more gentle kiss, one that had him gasping at how sweet and warm it was, and he leaned into it. They parted slower this time, more reluctant to separate than before.

"...can we try that again? I wasn't ready."

He swore his heart skipped a beat when Mifune laughed, and pulled him in for another breathtaking kiss that left his head spinning and his hands tangled in pale, straw colored hair. Asura giggled, hiding his face in the other man's shoulder, breathing in the scent of cinnamon and something tropical - he almost smelled like a rain forest, if that was even possible - and tentatively wrapped his arms around him.

Mifune shifted, and then brought his hands up to rest them lightly against Asura's back, turning his head to press his cheek to black and white hair. Asura hummed, snatching up the samurai's forgotten book and dangling it in front of him.

"...what is this? Is this...are you reading _Romoe and Juliet_?"

"...no...yes...it's a classic!"

"If you start reciting lines I'm leaving."

"Fair enough. Angela hates it too. She thinks it's sappy."

"She has a point."

"Oh be quiet."


	18. It'll Be Ok

**A short fluffy thing. Normal human Au in which Black*Star is an over eager cop (with partners Tsubaki, Maka and Soul) and his boyfriend is prone to panic attacks and crippling anxiety.**

 **Next drabble will have Hiro in it! I feel bad he doesn't get much love. :)**

 **0000**

He loved his job, he really, honestly did. He got to beat the bad guys, save lives, and at the end of the shift those he helped would look at him with such respect and gratitude that he couldn't help but stay a bit longer and meander about the police station until he knew he should go home.

His prestigious boyfriend had taken the car (again) forcing the officer to take his patrol car home - again. Not that he minded, he loved the fact that after Kid gave the truck back it smelled like him and coffee beans, and was completely clean to boot. He just hated constantly reminding the neighbors of the cop living next door without intentionally doing so.

It was like telling his adopted father about him dating a guy named _Kid_ of all things. Speaking of which...

Black*Star shut the door behind him, loudly calling out to his lover. A reply came from the kitchen, and he was quick to enter and grab a lemonade soda from the fridge, despite the glare sent his way.

"What are you doin'? It's take out night, remember?"

"...I was...I was just cutting up some vegetables. I thought you could take them to work with you, as a healthy snack." Kid put down his knife, turning his gaze back down to gather up the cut up celery and carrots and go about transferring them to a bowl. "How was work?"

He was being far too nonchalant, and Black*Star was too good at catching his moods.

"Did something happen at work?" He set his drink down and reached out to pull his boyfriend towards him. Kid leaned against the cop's chest and rested his chin on a broad shoulder. For a moment, he didn't think the shorter man would speak, when a whisper of breath caressed his neck.

"We lost a kid today. His lungs just collapsed, and then he was just... _gone._ " Sometimes it was easy to forget that the lithe male with his golden eyes and black and white hair was a doctor of all things, but it was times like these that he remembered and it hit him like a wrecking ball. Kid loathed losing kids over anything else, and soul often be distraught over it for days. The last time he'd actually broken down and called his father - an undertaker, of all things - for comfort Black*Star couldn't always give.

"Forget the vegetables, let's hit the hay. You're exhausted and you can talk while we wash up. It'll help to talk about it and do something that relaxes you."

Kid nodded and let the man lead him to their shared bedroom, sniffling and didn't regret that he had let Maka set him up on a blind date. Black*Star, as childish as he was, could be very caring and lovable when he wanted to be.

"Black*Star?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Kid. Come here so I can get your shirt off."

"I'm so glad Father took out all those microphones years ago."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"You're such a nerd."

"Shut up and turn on the shower already."


	19. Gym is Hell

**High school Au. Could be seen as Soul x Kid or Black*Star x Tsubaki, but it's mainly platonic friendship.**

 **Please send requests, I'm out of ideas.**

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There weren't a lot of rules at the DWMA High school. There was no known dress code, and all of the teachers were extremely laid back, if not extremely weird. The principal himself was a total goofball unless he was provoked, and those times were few and far between. However, there still were rules that the students followed, ones that had both been in effect for a long time and those that had been made by the students themselves, all of which posted on a blackboard at the front if the school.

1\. Never be alone with Dr. Stein. Always bring a friend to die with you.

2\. Don't upset Ms Marie. If she doesn't kill you Stein will.

3\. Justin may look really young for a teacher but _do not_ try flirting with him. He will report you to Sid. Seriously. Just back off. His boyfriend might also maim you.

4\. Don't be late to any of Sid's classes. Detention with him is a living hell.

5\. Archne is creepy, spend as little time with her as you can.

6\. Asura is nice company occasionally, but it's better to out right avoid him. His complaining might drive you insane. Really.

7\. Unless you absolutely hate your life and have a death wish DO NOT DATE, MESS WITH, UPSET, OR FIGHT HIS SON. YOU WILL LITERALLY DIE AND NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW THE LOCATION OF YOUR CORPSE.

Unfortunately, the newest student, Soul Evans, hadn't bothered to look at the rules before he waltzed into school late, knowing full well that he'd get an earful from his new roommate. She was easy on the eyes, sure, but that blond had one hell of a temper, and he was sure the friends she'd walked to school with wouldn't be too different.

After getting his schedule from the front office (and meeting the weirdly obsessed vice principal) he wandered through the halls to his first (technically his third period) class. It was gym, which he felt was rather fortunate. It meant he could slide right in with his devil may care attitude and be the cool guy of the class. He'd arrived late, so he simply threw his bag down on the gym floor and sauntered over the teacher, who looked a little too sickly to be teaching a gym class.

"Hey! Call me Sid, I'm your teacher for this period. I'm gonna guess you're Evans right?"

"Tch. Yeah." Soul glanced at the rest of the class, seeing that they were simply walking around and talking. He guessed class hadn't officially started yet. "Whatdya want me to do?"

"Oh, just mingle with everyone for now, once the girl's teacher gets in we'll start. We're having a joint lesson today."

The white haired boy turned away from Sid to survey the scene, immediately deciding he'd rather not try and infiltrate the group of girls he walked over to where all the guys seemed to have gathered. His progress was stepped by a buff looking kid with a star tattoo on his shoulder.

"You're obviously new here, pal. No one gets to walk right by me without a fight! I'm gonna be the man who transcends even the gods with my greatness!" He started cackling then, throwing his head back, messy blue hair becoming even more wild. Soul wasn't quite sure if he should join the laughter or call the kid crazy and move on. Someone else quickly made his option for him.

"Leave him alone Black*Star. Sid will get us in trouble if you try to fight someone right now. And plus, Ms Marie hates it when we fight..." Soul couldn't help but to gawk at the blatantly beautiful girl now tugging this apparent "Black*Star" back and away from him. "I'm sorry, he's very ill-tempered sometimes. I'm Tsubaki."

"Soul." He turned away from the painfully obvious couple and caught sight of a very unwelcome person. Maka glared at him from where she stood with a small group of people. After a moment of her glaring and him staring passively back, she seemed to slump in defeat and motioned for him to come over.

Suspicious, but having nothing better to do, he walked over and leaned against the bleachers, winking at the two blonds standing next to his roommate.

"You're just awful, aren't you?" She crossed her arms across her nonexistent chest, while her two friends giggled besides her. "Did you even bother to look at the rule board?"

"There's a rule board?" He wasn't paying much attention to the decor, or whatever the board looked like. He then shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, attempting to look as chill as he possibly could. "Eh, I don't usually care anyway. Not like I'll stay all that long, so it won't effect me much. So, who are your beautiful friends?"

Maka scowled at him and probably would have hit him before a hand was on her shoulder and his shoulder, a boy only a little older looking than them gliding in between them. Soul couldn't help but to stare in wonder at this kid with his freakin' black and white hair and all black gym attire.

"Please don't start a fight. You'll dirty up the gym even more." The boy turned golden eyes on Soul, taking his hands away from the two roomies. He glanced the new student up and down before he frowned at him and glanced at Maka. "I'm Kid. You've met Maka, and my stepsisters Liz and Patty. And of course, you must be Soul. Stein guessed that you'd be late. Mm, class is about to start."

Soul was about to ask how this Kid knew that when Sid called for everyone to line up for dodgeball, of all things.

It started out fine. He was on a team with Black*Star, Tsubaki, some kid called Hiro, and a few others he didn't really care to remember. On the other side, Maka proved to be fast on her feet and extremely agile, and she put all of her anger into all of her attacks. He noticed that one particular kid (one on his side) never got hit or even had a ball thrown his direction. He had pink hair and clutched a black dragon toy to his chest.

Also on the other side, Liz and Patty were making short work of taking his team out one by one and Kid darted about on his side if the gym, dodging balls and throwing them back with a speed that was rather frightening for such a lithe boy.

No one seemed to really be aiming at him either, which was confusing and weird; didn't you _want_ to get the other team out?

Soul turned and aimed, waiting for the perfect before...He threw as hard as he could, and _the fucker deflected the ball with one he had just caught,_ and the deflected ball...hit the pink haired boy right in the gut, making him drop his toy and fall to the ground crying out in pain.

"You idiot!" Maka was screaming at him and running to the fallen boy, Sid already by the kid's side. The others gathered around them, shooting looks at Soul, who stood rooted the spot. A hand was on his shoulder, and someone was talking to him, but all he could hear was his own heart beating in his chest and the pounding in his head.

The kid stood up with the help of Sid, obviously fine, although he was still sniffling, and then he could tell Maka was getting in his face and was talking to him, and then both Sid and the pink haired kid were there in front of him, Sid holding a clip board that had Soul Evans files on it.

"Ah shit, I should've checked this before I threw you into dodgeball. Kid your dad's gonna kill me."

"Why? Is there something wrong? Let me guess, anger issues or something like that?"

"Guy's got a heart condition. Car crash made it super weak. Ok uh, Kid, take him up to the nurse, see is she can get him calmed down, and tell your dad what happened so no one goes and thinks the wrong thing."

Kid grabbed hold of Soul's arm to lead the still frozen teen out of the gym and back towards the front of the school, where the nurse was located. Just as they stepped through the threshold, Soul's heart had slowed to its natural pace, and the pounding in his head was only an ache now.

"Did I hurt him?"

"Who?" Kid was staring at him, concerned and obviously worried sick about this weird boy with a bad heart and a bad attitude.

"The guy I hurt! Is he ok? I saw him go down, and everyone looked so worried. Is he ok?"

"...Soul, Crona is fine, he just got startled and he'll probably bruise...but you nearly had a heart attack. Everyone was worried about _you._ "

"...oh..."

"Come on, just lay down here until the nurse comes back from her break." Kid led him to an empty bed and pushed Soul down on the plastic covered mattress. "You should mention if something was wrong you know."

"Its not usually a problem. Like I said, I'm never anywhere long enough for much to effect me. Me and my parents are always traveling to better and more expensive hospitals to find out how to fix my dumb heart." He was spewing more than he should, but he had a feeling his dad would pull him out the moment he caught wind of his son almost dying at school.

"I'm sorry." Kid sat down next to him, hands resting on his knees. "We all assumed you were just some mean punk the moment Maka told us about you."

"I'm just another super cool guy."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it'll stick." He glanced over at the clock, then stood and stretched. "Well, I've got another class to get to, so wait here until the nurse comes and then hurry to class ok? I'll see you later!"

He smiled over his shoulder, raising a hand to wave goodbye.

"Uh, y-yeah, bye!" Soul sat back on the mattress with a crunch of plastic, and he knew he'd be fine by the time the nurse came in. Just another close call.

When he got home the same day, Maka was hanging out with that pink haired kid from before. Crona forgave Soul for hitting him, as it hadn't been his fault, and he was, for once since he had moved in, invited to have dinner with them.

There weren't a lot of rules at the DWMA High school. The top ones however, ones that went unspoken and not up on the rules board, were simple; you don't bully Crona, who the school's top athletes would kick your ass, you didn't hit on the principal's son, and you did not, no matter what, try to scare Soul Evans, not unless you wanted to give the poor guy a heart attack from his condition, and once again have the top athletes kick your ass.


	20. He Stands in the Shadow

**Marie x Death if you squint. Basically Marie watching Lord Death. Not as creepy as it sounds, I swear.**

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Now, Lord Death was an easy fellow to find if you knew where to look. He was almost always in the Death Room during school hours, and afterwards he could be found at his Gallows manor, either working diligently or spending his precious little time with his son.

Lord Death was also adept at hiding. He _was_ a being forged from darkness, the living embodiment of death. He'd once told Marie that his cloak was basically a fabric spun from dread and shadows, with a mask of ivory and marble bewitched to keep the fabric in place.

Right now, he seemed to be hiding from the prying eyes of the living, which included a particular blonde.

Marie peered down a into another empty classroom, feeling a twist of guilt in her gut. A meeting for all the Death Scythe had been held, and she had said something she desperately wished she hadn't, something she knew would probably have upset the usually carefree god.

 _"Sometimes I wonder if he even has actual emotions! He just seems so distant from the problems of today, like he doesn't care."_

Yes, she had said those cruel words, had claimed that he didn't care. She couldn't even say if she had a good excuse, besides the fact that everyone had been stressed since the Paris incident and now the Orlando shooting, and everything that had happened in between, which included Asura getting out of his imprisonment.

They still hadn't captured or killed the kishin, and it had been weighing heavily on all of their minds.

"That didn't excuse what I said though." Marie mumbled to herself, finally giving up on finding the god as she turned to walk out onto one of the school's many balconies. And, of course, it was there that she would find who she'd been looking for.

Lord Death stood, his cloak pulled off and thrown haphazardly over the old railing. The setting sun turned the Death God into a black silhouette against its flaming light, setting black hair into deep undertones of blue and red, the metal chain around his neck shining in the generous lighting. The sunlight turned his reddish gold eyes into blazing amber, beautiful against his pale skin and the dark of his eyelashes.

The blonde could only stand there, hands clasped to her chest as she watched him.

He was a god, a mighty king in this light, set ablaze by the fiery fury trapped in his eyes, yet at the same time he was mellowed out by the sadness and pain there too. There was strength in the way his shoulders were squared back, the way he held himself up straight. There was elegance in the way his hands lay on the top of the railing, long fingers curled around the black iron.

He turned to look at her, and his eyes turned from fiery, furious amber to sad gold, and then the shadows turned them into a deep red that struck fear into the woman, though she knew the god wouldn't hurt her, no matter what she said to him; Lord Death was a forgiving god, kind and polite in the way most humans would never be. The shadows had turned his pale skin into ash, and for a moment she realized how fragile this human form of death really was.

Marie could not offer him much, only her apology and useless words. She stepped close, close enough to smell leather and old books and coffee and rain, that unique blend of scents that seemed to belong to Death only. He looked down at her, those eyes - _holding so much pain and sorrow and anger and hate -_ boring a hole into her very soul.

She slowly raised a single hand, and placed it on his shoulder, feeling the tension bleed out of him at the gesture. He didn't turn away from her. He stepped ever closer to her, and now she could smell that cloying, sickeningly sweet smell of decay and the musty fragrance of a graveyard on a stormy night.

And then he was gone, brushing past her, his cloak held tightly in his hands, those sad eyes not looking back.

She screamed her apology at him, and he turned to smile at her, and he forgive her, as he always did, and he beckoned to her.

Marie ran to catch up with Death's brisk walk, and she smiled up at him, and she saw those eyes - _holding so much sadness that she wanted to sooth it all away -_ and she saw that there was now a warmth to them, a friendly gleam in the reddish gold depths.

She vowed to make that warmth appear in his eyes as much as she could in her short human life, even if it meant giving up her life.

 _Because no one deserves to hold so much sorrow and hatred and pain and anger in their heart._


	21. Just Hold My Hand and Believe in Me

**Heyyyy guess who's alive? My health isn't the best, but I had this pairing lined up for chapter 21, figured I'd finish it up and send it out before I got back to requests. It was gonna be a Kid x Maka, but then it ended up being a...Kid x Hiro. I blame my friends that always talk about Hiro and what he might be able to do. I guess leave a review if you think it's a nice enough pair?**

 **Speaking of pairings...**

 **Guest: thanks! Glad you thought it was good, I honestly thought that I laid it on too thick with all my color talk. Ok so, I'll get to your request, but I'll have you know that I actually had to look up who Kilik even was. Like I said, I've only watched the anime and read the first three volumes of the manga. So I can't promise good writing for him, but I'll certainly try for a regular!**

 **I hope you enjoy this, I don't own anything.**

When it came to getting into fights, Hiro had always taken the blame, always claimed to have started it and forced the other to shove him back. It had never mattered to him that everyone knew he didn't start the fights. Hell, he rarely ever fought back. The blond was always the one with bruises and black eyes, but he saw far too much good in people, and so didn't let them take the blame for something he saw as trivial.

In the end, no one even thought of his actions. Their opinion of the blond had been set the moment he stepped foot in the school, and he followed their expectations to the letter. He simply didn't know how to do anything else. He was raised to do what he was told, and people told him what he was, what they thought he was, ands he'd just...accepted it. Became it.

And yet...He was _so much more_ than what everyone thought him to be.

Death the Kid smiled to himself as he watched Hiro pet some stray cat he'd found, the blond fawning over the feline while it ate a piece of ham from his hand. The weaponless meister was secretly kind, passionate, everything he did had a reason and a rhythm to it. Even feeding a stray cat fit into his routine. Sort of.

"Hey, earth to Kid, you in there?" Kid jerked back, mind reeling as he spiraled back down towards reality, and to the impatient blond frowning at him. Hiro rolled his eyes, used to the reaper's behaviour by now, and gave the cat one last piece of ham before he straightened up and picked his bag up off the ground. "We should get going before you space off on me again. I mean, coffee is great in the morning and all, but we're cutting it close. I don't wanna be late to school."

Hiro turned and started walking towards the DWMA, bag bumping against his back. For a moment, Kid just watched the blond take those long strides, confidence oozing out of him. The Reaper took a breath and followed after, and the two walked in silence to school.

"Did you tell Liz and Patty where you were going?"

"...no. they'd tell everyone else and -"

"It's ok, I get it. You don't want to be seen by the guy who's the literal worst at everything." He said it so calmly, with no trace of malice in his voice. He was just...he was just stating a fact. Hiro had been told that he was the worst so many times that he'd come to believe it as true. "I wouldn't want to be seen with me either, if I were you."

Kid could only stare. This was what happened when people assumed something about someone. This was what happened when people were cruel to a person. Of all the people...it had to _him_ didn't it? Someone who would have been so kind and selfless, turned into whatever the public thought he was.

"I didn't tell them because they were asleep when I left. Liz and Patty know that I hang out with you."

"But does anyone else know? Every time I offer to walk you to school you'll only go if we're extremely early or late. I know it's because you don't -"

" _IT'S BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SHARE!"_

Both boy's stopped, staring at each other in complete and utter surprise. It hadn't been what Kid wanted to say, but it was true nonetheless. He didn't want to share. He wanted these quiet mornings where they had coffee and then walked to school together. He wanted the days where they spent all their time curled up together, alone and watching movies or reading whilst in the other's company.

"I don't want to share you. I like spending time with you _when it's just us._ This way I don't have to worry about you, about people hurting you, or telling you who you should be, when I _know_ who you are."

Hiro just...stared. He didn't say a word, he didn't move. It was as if he had froze there, never to move a muscle again. Then, in a flash, he smiled and was wrapping his arms around Kid, and the reaper in training could smell his flowery shampoo, and of a moment, everything was so _right._

"I don't want to share you either Kid. But next time let's do something in public, ok? I don't care about people who want to hurt me. I won't forget who I am just because of hearsay. As long as I've got you to believe in me, I'm ok." Hiro was smiling, and that made it alright again. Kid grinned and took hold of the blond's hand, pushing aside the coming symmetry fit he could creeping up on him. Hiro was smiling at him, and hadn't pulled away.

This was what the blond was like, and if other people couldn't see that...

"We're going to hold hands all the way there, got it? And if anyone asks..." When Kid trailed off, Hiro leaned in to give the god child a kiss on each cheek, eyes bright with his excitement.

"We'll tell them the truth?"

Kid nodded, and then they were walking again, and Hiro swung their interlinked hands back and forth, humming and just _so happy_ that Kid decided he'd be as brave as Hiro was.

After all, the blond was the one who went every day getting beat up, never fighting back and always the one who took the blame. Death the Kid was just the lucky one along for the ride.


	22. Color in a White Washed World

**Wow, it's been so long, I'm sure some of you thought I was dead. I wasn't, in case you were wondering. As my regular readers know my health has been plummeting as of recently, and the past few months have more or less been a hell of medicine and hospital visits. I'm finally better, as better as I'm gonna get, so I decided it would be best if I at least tried to get back into writing.**

 **This took a long while for me to type, and it's nothing any one requested.**

 **I've seen everyone's recent reviews, and I'll get to the requests, but right now I don't think I could them any justice. Thank you to everyone who's wished me good health, it did me some good seeing those while I was down.**

 **ANYWAY this is an AU me and a close friend came up with while I was away, it's full of our own characters and headcanons and is severely indulgent on my part. Has minor Maka x Liz and some suggestion of Hiro x Kidd. If you've noticed, I am spelling his name differently, that's mainly because I got tired of avoiding using kid as a description so...slightly different spelling.**

 **Enjoy, review, and I don't own anything except for the few obviously not canon characters. (Ink is mine, though he has different ages depending on the AU he gets shoved into.)**

Hiro stirred, slowly opening his eyes to stare up at the white ceiling and the painfully florescent lights overhead. He could already tell that it would just be another shitty day, one full of doctors and nurses and people who would only pity him.

Beside him, the heart monitor beeped at a steady rate, betraying the awful hollow feeling in his chest. Just outside the room, through the partially shut door, he could hear the nurses walking, their shoes making soft clicking sounds on the tiles. He listened, for a moment, to the dreadfully familiar noises, then turned onto his side to stare out the one single window in his tiny little white room.

All he could see was the blue sky, a few clouds, and the very top of a tree with leaves in fall colors. A nurse had told him it was almost Halloween, and that if he felt like it he could go home to celebrate. Hiro already knew he wouldn't be going home; it wasn't that he wasn't healthy enough, just that he had no family to go home to.

Out in the hall, someone started screaming and the sound of shoes against the tiles became louder. He sat up, ignoring the dull ache in his limbs, mostly The door of his room opened and a small figure slipped inside, closing the door behind them. Hiro made a little room on his bed, smiling as Ink climbed up beside him.

"Did the noise startle you?" Hiro kept his voice just above a whisper, knowing that the little pale boy was sensitive to anything loud. Ink nodded, his mop of messy black hair flopping over his lavender eyes. The blond brushed the younger boy's hair back and felt his heart break a little at the weak smile he got.

"Y-y-y-yeah, c-can I s-s-s-stay?" Ink reached out to hold onto the front of Hiro's shirt (white, just like the room they sat in). Hiro just didn't have the heart to say no.

He sat back, letting Ink lay down on top of him, and covered both of them with the blanket. The screaming outside petered out, and then it turned into quiet sobbing, and the soft voice of someone saying it's alright. That meant it had to be Crona that had been screaming.

Poor kid. First Crona had a terrible mother, then got diagnosed with something mental, and now only had a few nurses and a doctor to relay on. Hiro smoothed Ink's dark hair, holding the young boy a little bit closer. He dearly hoped he would get to leave this hospital, the pale little child didn't need to suffer through what Crona had, or what he himself had to go through still.

Heart disease, defective lungs, dying kidneys, he had it all it seemed. Crona was mentally ill, from what he knew, and little Ink had a bad heart condition and overly sensitive hearing. Black*Star from down the way was a regular, always coming in with injuries and broken bones, but he could leave if he wanted to. Across the hall, the same room Ink came from, Soul would be laying in bed, heart on its last leg and lungs starting to shut down.

Somewhere else in the hospital, Maka would be on her phone, talking with her girlfriend Liz, while looking over Soul's clipboard with her sad green eyes. Kilik (Hiro's regular doctor) would be complaining about the bitter outlook of his patients to his twin assistants, and Dr. Stein would be making his rounds and generally being awful.

The sobbing faded, replaced by the same quiet clicking of shoes and the squeaking of wheelchairs. Ink was asleep now, head resting on Hiro's chest, one hand squished under his cheek, the other still holding onto the older patient's shirt. The blond didn't try to move, just adjusted the blanket and settled back for a nap.

Death The Kidd leaned over his desk, elbows resting on the dark surface. He'd just transferred over to the DWMA Hospital, which had been recommended by his Father. He'd gotten accepted immediately, had met with some little blond nurse and a tall man with disfiguring scars, and now he was set up in an office with new files on his desk.

Apparently, some doctor (his name was Kilik or something) had gotten tired of a few of his patients. Soul Evans, Black*Star, Ink Black, and...a Hiro L. Soul was a 23 year old on the edge of death, Black*Star was a reckless youth, Hiro was a 20 year old chock full of problems, and...ah jeez.

"An eight year with a bad heart. Damn, that's depressing as hell." Kidd picked up the file, looking at the grainy picture of a young, sickly boy with extremely pale skin, deep bags underneath his watery lavender eyes, and messy black hair. In the picture, it looked like he'd been crying, but someone had managed to make him smile for the picture.

The raven haired doctor tucked the file underneath his arm, picked up his mug of tea, and left his office. He headed in the direction of the kid's room, peering into other rooms that he passed. Upon entering the right year old's room he found only Soul Evans in his bed. The sickly man gave Kidd a wave, and then pointed across the hall.

"The lil' guy got spooked. Ran over to Hiro's room." Soul weakly explained, smiling at the darkly clad doctor. It must be nice to see something with some color. Kidd thanked him, making a mental note to look in on his files again, then turned around and made his way across the hall.

He opened the door and peered inside, finding a lone bed. In it a young man with blond hair had an arm loosely wrapped around Ink Black, just who he'd been looking for. Kidd leaned against the doorframe, smiling as he looked at them. He didn't want to wake them, but he also wanted to talk to the younger boy.

"You don't look like a doctor. Are you new here?" The blond - Hiro - was awake, now looking at Kidd with startlingly blue eyes. He kept a hand on Ink's back, voice soft and a little weak. Kidd stared for a moment before snapping to attention and answering the question.

"Ah, yeah. I just wanted to check with Mr. Black there, though I think I'll wait on that. I'm Kidd, by the way." He took a step closer, golden eyes bright. Hiro sat up a little, making sure to keep his hands on Ink to keep the little boy from falling or rolling out of the bed.

"Hiro. Nice to meet you. His name is Ink. He's...really sensitive, though I guess you know that." He gestured towards the file the doctor was holding.

"Yeah, I have his case now. Yours too, and a couple others you might know. I'll let you get some rest, but I'm gonna come back to check in on you and...Ink." Kidd could only smile as he turned to make his way out, liking this place just a tad bit more.

He left thinking of golden blond hair, startlingly blue eyes, pale lips and long eyelashes.

Hiro watched the strange doctor go, thinking only of his golden eyes, his black and white hair, his crisp black suit with the skull pendant and his silent way of walking. Ink stirred and yawned, blinking tiredly at the older boy.

"W-w-was someone just h-h-h-here?" The eight year old rubbed at his eyes while Hiro playfully (and gently) ruffled his hair.

"Yeah. Don't worry though, he's nice. Real nice. Go back to sleep, you need the rest. When you wake up we can go down to the play room and make a castle out of blocks, ok?" Ink immediately agreed, snuggled back down against the blond's chest, and fell back to sleep within a few minutes. Hiro wrapped both arms around the little boy, settling back onto the pillows and bed.

When he fell asleep, the last thing on his mind were golden eyes and color amid the white of his world.


End file.
